Commuting to and from the work place in an automobile is common and, with the wide availability of drive-through services and the advent of the mobile telephone and FAX, the car has become a secondary domicile or office of sorts for many people on-the-go. Drinking a beverage en-route has long been recognized as popular practice by inventors, who have provided a number of ingenious cup holders for the vehicle dash or console, and automobile manufacturers have come to provide integrated cup holders and trays as standard features. Other activities routinely seen in this mobile environment are make-up application and business related paper work, either of which is best accomplished in an organized setting. Since virtually every space and pocket in an automobile is already in use, organization is difficult and the best available solution is "cash receipts in the ash tray; memo pad in the glove compartment; and lipstick and mascara in the console". In such a scenario, organization becomes marginal and things are easily lost.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide means for engaging in any of several activities in an organized manner, and moreover, to accomplish this with improved access and convenience. Other objects will be evident from the description of the invention.
In the present invention these objects are achieved by providing a set of holding devices or accessories, each serving an individual function. Each has the same base configuration so that they will engage interchangeably with a common mount on the dash or console. These holding devices may be a cup, a cosmetics kit, and an office kit, or they may take other specialized forms. A round base flange may be provided for engagement in the common mount so as to allow angular positioning of the holding device. A latch is placed in a first position to retain engagement of the base with the mount and is moved to a second position to allow removal of the holding device and the substitution of another. In the case of a round base flange, the latch may also clamp the base lightly to inhibit undesired rotation of the holding device.